


Family

by rosieblue



Category: Boy Meets World
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10654986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosieblue/pseuds/rosieblue
Summary: In the end, she grows back into her family, even if not all at once.





	1. Father

 

 

 

 

 

Angela didn't really imagine the strange shift in her father's character would go this far after the divorce.

 

 

When a month passed after her mother's 'exceedingly long, unnecessary vacation', as her father put it, Angela was surprised by her father's decision to move to ~~\--~~

 

"Philadelphia?", Angela said, with rightful preteen indignation. "Dad, really?"

 

Sgt. Alvin Moore barely looked up from his newspaper. "Yes, Angel, really."

 

Angela whined and made an odd motion with her hands. "Daddy, you're taking this way too hard. Who trades _New York City_ for _Philadelphia_?!"

 

Her father finally put the newspaper down, and looked her in the way. "And you're taking this way too lightly, Angel."

 

Angela looked around the room, trying to avoid direct eye-contact. Her father didn't need to know she had spent the past month crying and hyperventilating at night.

 

"We need a change", Alvin said, putting his sergeant face on. "You might not like it now, but you're going to thank me later."

 

"I won't", Angela said, stubbornly shaking her head. "No way."

 

"We'll still go to New York every other weekend, baby", her father said, reassuringly. "You'll visit your friends and your cousins. Even if I'm not around; June'll come to pick you up."

 

Angela bit her tongue from saying _'maybe this is why Mom left'_. Even if she thought it, it would do no good to tell her father that.

 

Her mother was long gone.

 

Alvin noticed the way Angela's jaw was jutting out, making an effort to not talk, and shook her head.

 

"Angel", he began, tone becoming uncharacteristically soft. "I think we should start going to counseling."

 

"What? What for?", Angela said, sucker-punched. "I'm fine!"

 

"Maybe, if you'll not open to me. You'll open up to a professional."

 

Angela kept shaking her head, un-hearing.

 

"So, first you decide to isolate me from my friends and now you want me to go talk to some...", Angela paused, trying to find a word that was appropriate to say in front of her father. "Phony, who probably knows nothing, about _you and Mom's_ divorce?!"

 

Alvin, still keeping his sergeant face on, nodded. "You'll thank me later, trust me."

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sgt. Alvin Moore huffed in exasperation.

 

"It'll do you good if you just rea ~~\--~~ "

 

Angela, who just turned fourteen an hour ago, turned away in spite.

 

"Dad, I'm not reading it and that's final!"

 

She could feel her father deflating in hopelessness, her mother's letter ~~\--~~ her only letter ~~\--~~ in hand, without even looking. She had to stand her ground.

 

"She's not my mother; I don't have one of those anymore."

 

Alvin sighed. "Angela ~~\--~~ "

 

"It's true", Angela said, turning back to face her father. "It's been three years and she didn't bother calling ~~\--~~ why now?"

 

"Maybe she wants to be a part of your life again", Alvin started, prompting. "But you'll never know unless you read it."

 

"Wow", Angela said, incredulous. "So I raise myself and she comes back to take all credit?"

 

Alvin ignored the hidden jab. "Just hear her out."

 

The words came before Angela could stop them. "Did you?"

 

Alvin froze. "What?"

 

Taking a deep breath, Angela tried to lighten the blow. "Did you hear her out?"

 

"She didn't write _me_ anything."

 

"But she called you", Angela said, looking her father in the eye. "I heard you, Dad. On the phone that night."

 

Alvin bit his lip. "How much did you hear?"

 

"I only heard when you said there was nothing left to say and hung up."

 

"Damn", he commented. "I was hoping you heard the other part when I pleasantly asked who it was."

 

Angela smiled slightly. "You can't be telling to read the letter when you wouldn't even talk to her."

 

"Maybe, she should've switched her methods", Alvin said, sitting down on the couch. "I was not in anyway ready to hear her voice again."

 

Angela sat down next to him. "What makes you think I was?"

 

Alvin smiled at his daughter and gave her a side-hug.

 

"You're right", he said, throwing the letter on the coffee table in front of them. "You can throw it out, rip to shreds if you want. But if you want to read it after that..." 

  
Angela took the letter off the table and ripped it into little pieces. "I won't."

 

 

* * *

 

 

  


"Angel", her father finally said, after they spent ten minutes staring at a shoddy painting. "I definitely thought the Louvre would be more impressive. We wasted our train tickets."

 

Angela agreed. "Yeah, same. This is so underwhelming."

 

Her stomach chose that inopportune bonding moment to growl, making Alvin laugh appreciatively.

 

"The food better be nicer than their exhibition", he said, as they headed to the nearest café.  


 

  
As they sat in one of the outdoor cafés, Angela noticed her father sharing looks with a brown woman in a floral dress, who looked about his age and sat alone a few tables away.

 

She smirked and was about to say something when her father beat her to it.

 

"How's your writing going, Angel?"

 

 _He remembered_ , was all Angela could think as she tried to respond.

 

They haven't spoken about her writing since they moved to Italy, in fact they haven't spoken about her writing at all. Angela knew the last time she shared any of her work with her father was well over six years ago and yet ~~\--~~

 

"You remember that?", she asked, smile overtaking her face.

 

Alvin was incredulous. "Of course! Don't tell me you've stopped?"

 

"I didn't", Angela said, shaking her head. "I actually started writing more than just stories...I'm doing articles now too."

 

"Did you bring any with you?"

 

"Yeah, well not here, but back home."

 

Alvin smiled and shook his head. "I'm going to have one hell of a day reading those, Angel."

 

He paused and then took something out of his pocket.

 

 "Now, listen. If you need any help breaking into the professional world, just call this woman. She'll be an excellent helping hand for you."

 

Angela stared at the business card her father had given her before putting it down. "I don't need help, Daddy, I'm doing it on my own."

 

"It's going to be hard either way, Angel", Alvin said.

 

"I know that", Angela said, shrugging. "I'll manage though."

 

"I know", her father said, nodding. "That's my girl!"  


 

 

A few minutes later, their food arrived, much to Angela's delight.

 

She started eating, but noticed her dad sneaking looks at the brown woman in the floral dress every few seconds, as if worried she'll disappear.

 

"You know, Daddy", Angela said, swallowing a bite. "If she's ordered more than three cappuccinos, she's probably waiting for you to go talk to her."

 

Alvin grinned, a little nervously. "You think so?"

 

Angela snorted. "She's definitely not doing it for their excellent brews!"

 

"You got a point there", Alvin said, scratching his cheek. "But I feel like going up to her would be a tad too much for me."

 

"Daddy", Angela began, with a quirked eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're saying you got old!"

 

Alvin scoffed. "Angel, you know I'm as young as ~~\--~~ "

 

"A baby grasshopper", Angela said, ruining the simile. "Yeah, I know. Sounds like something Feeny would say."

 

"Feeny is the old white man with the monotone voice, correct?"

 

"Correct."

 

"The one that odd white boy I don't want you hanging out with says is his mentor-grandpa?"

 

Angela smiled a little at her father's description of Eric. "That's the one."

 

"Okay", Alvin said, finally getting up. "I'm going, but before I do, you _do_ know I only like Shawn and that short white girl with the squeaky voice?"

 

Angela rolled her eyes at her dad. "Yes, Daddy, I know. Now quit stalling!"  


 

 

* * *

 

 

  
She was visiting his grave for the second time that day.

 

Somehow, Angela's legs had grown a mind of their own since her father passed away four months ago. And they always led her to his grave.

  
"Hey, Dad", Angela began, voice quivering again. "I hope you're not getting sick of me."  
  
  
She smiled a little as she imagined his outrage at her even suggesting such a thing.

 

"I actually have some news to tell you today", Angela began. "Jamila's gotten her report card. It's all A's, as you know, Jamila's an ace!"

 

She paused, then kicked herself for doing so because headstones don't answer when spoken to.

 

"And Jack and Eric are finally adopting a kid. She'll be with them in a month, Dad", she said. "Eric wants to name her Peanuts, but you know how that's gonna go."

 

Angela fidgeted with her hands, feeling ridiculous at feeling nervous at her father's reaction even he's dead.

 

"And speaking of babies", she began, tentatively. "I'm pregnant."

 

Angela shook her head at her own ridiculousness. She still expected a big reaction somehow.

 

A tremor from the headstone, maybe a vision of her father suddenly appearing. Anything.

 

"I'm so scared, Daddy", she finally confessed. "I want to do this, to have this baby, but I'm so scared."

 

She started pacing in front of the headstone.

 

"A million things can go wrong and even Topanga said labor is a bitch ~~\--~~ "

 

Angela stopped and looked at her father's name on the headstone ~~\--~~ _Alvin Julius Moore, Sgt. U.S Army, beloved son, brother, father, and friend_ ~~\--~~ and imagined she was looking him straight in the eye.

 

"I wanted you to be with me, Dad."

 

"He will be, Ang", a voice said.

 

Even through the grief and tears, Angela jumped in shock.

 

Wiping her tears away with her sleeves, Angela turned to face her friend.

 

"Cory", Angela said, trying for a smile. "You scared me."

 

Cory held his hands out apologetically, trying for a smile back.

 

Angela walked up to her friend and hugged him.

 

Needing to vent, she spoke into his now-soaked shirt. "I miss him so much."

 

"I know", Cory said, patting her back lightly. "His your father and you loved him, of course you do."

 

"I keep thinking what will he say", Angela said, breaking away from Cory but still crying. "How he would probably have smiled and told me it was going to be okay, even though ~~\--~~ "

 

She hiccuped. "Even though, he would be more of a nervous wreck than I am."

 

Cory smiled. "You're probably right."

 

"I know", Angela said, wiping her face again. "Dad always tried to not make me worry even if he was."

 

"He was a good man."

 

Angela nodded. "He really was."


	2. Mother

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm serious", Topanga said, in between laughs. "I _do_ call my parents by their first names. Jeddadiah and Rhiannon, Rhiannon and Jeddadiah!"

Angela was in hysterics at Topanga's tone.

 

Laughing, she did her best to nod. "Okay, okay, I believe you...no matter how weird it is!"

 

Shawn snorted on her other side and raised his head slightly off her chest. "Ang, you should know by now Pangy here is the weirdo of our group."

 

Both girls shared a look and nodded, deciding there was really nothing to argue here.

 

 

They were having a sleepover that Angela wasn't quite sure happened how exactly.

 

She supposed she should really get a PDA or something because somehow her and Topanga's sleepover and her and Shawn's sleepover have merged into one big sleepover.

 

Realizing something, Angela laughed a little.

 

"What?", Topanga asked, head resting on Angela's shoulder.

 

Angela barely turned to smile at her. "Cory's going to be _pissed_!"

 

At this, Shawn laughed and Topanga did something that was a cross between a snort and a laugh.

 

"It's not our fault he didn't drop by and decided to fix his sleeping pattern today", Topanga said, shrugging.

 

 

They stayed like this ~~\--~~ quiet and calm and only shifting a little ~~\--~~ for a while until Angela started to think about one of Feeny's essays that she hadn't gotten started on yet.

 

She supposed she could ask Topanga, the self-declared valedictorian, for help but thought better of it. History was her area, anyway.

 

_Today's the 7th anyway_ , Angela thought, lightly. _Feeny's definitely not going to ask for it before Mother's...Day._

 

Sighing, Angela shifted until her head was on Topanga's shoulder, making Shawn re-adjust himself as well.

 

She just had to go ahead and think about that godawful holiday with the long weekend for the seniors ~~\--~~ Feeny was getting sentimental ~~\--~~ and the happy mothers and their happy, happy kids going out and having a wonderful, happy time.

 

_Great_ , Angela thought, bitterly. _Now, I'm shutting down a day earlier!_

 

Immersed in her thoughts, Angela didn't notice the look Topanga and Shawn shared over her head.

 

Angela instinctively grabbed at Shawn's hand, silently wishing him to make her feel better.

 

Somehow, as if he read her mind, he did.

 

"Angie", he began, spontaneously. "Panga and I were thinking that since none of us has a mother this year ~~\--~~ "

 

Angela scoffed. "Try every year."

 

"Why don't we road-trip? Go to the nearest beach?", Topanga interjected. "The weather's coming around."

 

Angela took a look at both her friends, best friend and boyfriend, who have both sat up straight and waited for her answer.

 

She supposed it would be a shame to waste a beautiful, sunny day to wallow in sadness when she periodically did that every few weeks.

 

Giving her friends one last look, Angela sat up straight herself and nodded. "Only if we do this every year."

 

Shawn and Topanga shared an excited high-five and hugged her at the same time, equally excitedly.

 

"Alright", Shawn said in the middle of their group hug. "I've been dying to start a No Mothers Club!"

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The day of their high school graduation, Angela already knew her father was not going to make today.

 

 

She'd told that to Shawn a day before, when he'd stayed over because Jack and Eric kicked him out again because of _'urgent business'_.

 

"He couldn't get the weekend off, Shawn", Angela said, as she took a banana for the bowl. "I know my father, it's not the first time this has happened."

 

Shawn shook his head, still unconvinced. "Yes, but this is no normal day, Angie."

 

He paused and then turned around, dramatically grabbing her arms. "You're graduating high schoo! That's a big fucking deal. Even _my_ dad is coming!"

 

Angela only managed to keep from rolling her eyes when she noticed the uncertainty in his last sentence. His dad still hasn't called when he said he would five days ago and Shawn still held out hope.

 

She didn't want his optimism rubbing on her today of all days; she really didn't want to cry at graduation.

 

  
"Look", Angela began, making light of the situation. "My Aunt June is coming from New York and she's bringing my grandma and cousins along."

 

Shawn opened his mouth to say something, but was distracted. "Still, your fath ~~\--~~ wait your cousins are coming? Is Derek coming? I love Derek!"

 

'Yes, Shawn", Angela said, laughing a little. "Derek is coming. So you see? It won't make a difference."

 

"Don't try to change the subject", he said. "I know that move ~~\--~~ I fucking invented it!"

 

Angela rolled her eyes this time and walked over to the table by the door, where she kept her mail.

 

"Okay, whatever _you_ say", she said, sifting through the mail.

 

She sighed as she discarded envelope by envelope.

 

Bill, unnecessarily long mail survey, a letter from someone who surely misplaced the address, another bill, an offer to some creepy services.

 

"Anything interesting?", Shawn asked, standing behind her, arms around her waist.

 

"No", Angela said. "I swear to God if this Carly woman writes one more letter to Jacques and sends it here again, I'm going to personally shut down whichever post office she sends this garbage from."

 

Angela could feel Shawn's lips smirk against her neck. "That's got to be a federal crime, Angie."

 

"Yeah, well so is writing every single detail of your love life and mailing it to someone you broke up with sixteen years ago."

 

  
Shawn whistled. " _Damn_ , no wonder the guy moved out."

 

Shawn suddenly let ago of Angela's waist and bent down.

 

"Hey, Ang, you read this?", he asked, standing upright and handing her an envelope she'd missed.

 

Angela squinted at it. "I don't think so?"

 

Shawn turned the envelope, looking for a name. "It says here it's from Janine Marlowe. You know her?"

 

  
Even though her heart nearly stopped when she heard the name, Angela couldn't help but snort at the question.

 

_Do you know her?_

 

"Yeah, uh", Angela said, clearing her throat and snatching the envelope from Shawn.

 

She prepared herself to say the next words clear and out loud, but still only managed a weak whisper. "She's my mother."

 

Shawn's face fell considerably. "Oh, do you want me to...throw it out?"

 

He made to take the letter, but Angela shook her head. "I'll do it myself", she said, crassly ripping the letter to shreds.

 

She threw the paper shreds in the living room basket and turned around, giving her boyfriend a bright smile.

 

He didn't look convinced. "Angie..."

 

Angela stopped him. "Seriously, Shawn, I'm fine. Honestly."

 

She moved forward, taking his hand in hers. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I think Cory might be at Chubby's right now."

 

 

 

 

The next day, after graduation, Angela and Shawn returned to her apartment together.

 

After two hours of almost no speaking, Angela broke the ice.

 

"Jack has some set of lungs on him", she said, jokingly referring to the whooping and cheering Jack initiated when his brother got his diploma.

 

Shawn, lost in his thoughts, answered half-heartedly. "Yeah, he's a good brother."

 

Angela leaned into him, making him instinctively put his arm around her. "I'm sory your father didn't show up."

 

"I'm sorry I thought he ever was", Shawn said, smiling at his stupidity.

 

He paused a little. "The man didn't even get his GED's; of course he wouldn't think this was important. Even if he kept telling me he's happy I was graduating..."

 

Angela watched Shawn trail off and decided to try something else. "We're going to have lunch with my family tomorrow by the way. They're only here for the weekend and Aunt June's never met you so ~~\--~~ "

 

"I'm sorry your dad didn't show up either", Shawn said, interrupting her and effectively ruining the illusion.

 

"I'm okay", Angela said, shaking her head. "Truly. I'm used to this, Shawn."

 

"So am I; doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though."

 

 

Angela couldn't sleep that night, fidgeting and shifting on her bed and against Shawn.

 

After a while, she decided to get up to move her legs a little.

 

Angela felt stiff; she felt restless. She needed to get up, to get moving...to do something.

 

Her mind kept going back to the letter, to the cursive blue-penned, handwritten Janine Marlowe.

 

_Here comes a stupid idea_ , Angela thought and headed to the living room, extra paper and glue in hand.

 

She took the shredded letter and it's envelope out of the, thankfully, otherwise clean basket.

 

 

 

By 3 in the morning, Angela had finally managed to glue her mother's letter back together.

 

Heart hammering in her chest, she read it again, unbelieving.

 

Third time's the charm, as they say, and maybe then she'll be convinced she didn't dream it up. 

 

  
So Angela read the letter for the third time, fourth time, fifth time.

 

During her sixth read of the letter, she decided to pause and actually digest what's she's read.

 

Her mother, Janine Marlowe, didn't say why she left. She barely even mentioned Angela's father at all, save for that one line; _And I know Alvin is taking excellent care of you, Angel. He's a wonderful father._

 

Instead her mother filled the letter with her regret for having left her, for not reaching sooner or more frequently. Angela might have imagined it, but she thought the letter smelled like tears.

 

Her mother also wrote a lot about how proud she was of Angela. She somehow knew her daughter was writing and had gotten her hands on some of her articles in the school paper, in the local newspaper's guest junior journalist column, even in that short-lived online blog she started with Nori from film-making class.

 

Janine filled the letter with exclamation points at her daughters achievements, nonsensical details of her day-to-day life, promises to see her again, and _'Angel_ 's.

 

Angela had no idea she was crying until a couple of her tears had stained the glued letter.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

"You don't have to go, you know", Shawn said, as he fixed Aria's bib.

 

Angela smiled at him and at Jamila, who quickly nodded her agreement.

 

"Yes, Mom", Jamila said, using a tone that was too wise for a twelve year-old. "If it hurts you, you shouldn't do it."

 

Side-hugging her daughter, Angela shook her head. "No, I must go. It's an honorary ceremony for my father, guys."

 

Shawn gave her look, took a glance at Jamila, and decided on a lighter tone for his next words. "They could have honored him while he was alive."

 

"I know", Angela said, old anger threatening to resurface. "I told them that. He spent all his life fighting for a country that only fought to stick its nose in other countries' businesses and this is what he gets!"

 

 

 

 

Although it pained Angela to say so, the ceremony was beautiful.

 

The venue was appropriately decorated and the people appropriately decorated, as were their speeches.

 

Sergeants, corporals, lieutenants, majors, captains, colonels, and generals took the stage and sang the praises of her father; his charisma, his wit, his skills, his plans, and his good cheer.

 

They shared stories Angela knew and other stories she was hearing for the first time.

 

Some made her laugh, some made her cry, but none made an impression on her like her Aunt June's speech, which was a good mix of both.

 

 

When the ceremony was over and everyone was preparing to leave, Angela looked around for her family. 

 

 

Aunt June and her husband, James, were having a somber conversation with a particularly shaken sergeant.

 

Shawn was lightly bouncing on his feet, successfully getting Aria to sleep, while having a whispered conversation with her cousin Derek and Jack.

 

Angela looked around again for Jamila and found her talking to Riley about something or the other under the eyes of Topanga, Cory, Rachel, Eric and Angela's friend from Italy, Zahara, who were having a conversation of their own.

 

Sighing, Angela went to get some water only to be stopped on her way by a woman.

 

The woman was dressed in a black overcoat and navy dress and was almost as dark-skinned as Angela's father was. 

 

 As she titled her head a little, her short Afro bounced. "Excuse me, I just couldn't help but noticing", she began. "But are you related to Sergeant Moore?" 

 

  
"Yes", Angela said, smiling a tight-lipped smile. "I'm his daughter. Did you know him, Ma'am?" 

 

The woman smiled an increasingly familiar wry smile. "You could say that. We were married for fourteen years."

 

Angela opened her mouth, but no words came.

 

 Instead what came was a flood of memories: the brightest blue car and sudden ice-cream runs, heart-shaped pancakes, shared smiles on Church Sundays, tickle fights, never-ending crying on endless nights, a glued-together letter full of the words _'proud'_ and _'Angel'_ s. 

 

Finally, she found her voice. "Mom?"

 

Janine nodded, with a tentative smile. "I missed you, Angel."

 

Angela smiled back, more out of reflexes than anything. She didn't really know what to say.

 

"Can we talk?", Janine asked, making to take Angela's hand in hers but stopping herself. "Can we please finally talk?"

 

"It's long overdue", Angela said, attempting the same wry smile.

 

 

 

 

Angela only remembered to text Shawn that she'll be late out and that she'll explain why after an hour into the conversation with Janine.

 

"I can't believe I forgot to tell him", Angela said,  quickly sending the text.

 

Janine shrugged, apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you."

 

Angela shook her head. "It's not your fault", she said, ignoring the irony of her saying the opposite of what she's wanted to say for years.

 

Janine just looked at her and, as if reading her mind, she shook her head.

 

"But it is. I should have been in your life, Angel."

 

"Look, I ~~\--~~ ", Angela began and shut up immediately when she realized her voice was shaking.

 

She leaned back, willing the tears back into her eyes. "Why did you leave?"

 

Janine leaned forward, this time taking Angela's hands in hers. "I'll tell you, baby."

 

 

They talked the rest of the night and well into the morning in Janine's hotel room.

 

They talked about their family, why it fell apart, and why Janine left. They talked about how they can grow back together and making amends. They talked about how horrible it felt to feel like you have no one.

 

 

When they were finally getting ready for bed, Janine turned to her daughter with a wry smile and metaphorical olive branch.

 

"I heard I have granddaughters", she said.

 

Angela smiled, metaphorically accepting.

 

"Wait until you meet them!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
